


You Came Home

by TheFireBreathingQueen



Category: The Folk of the Air - Holly Black
Genre: F/M, knife to the throat should be more scary than it is tbh, post twk, she came back
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-07-09 21:03:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19894318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFireBreathingQueen/pseuds/TheFireBreathingQueen
Summary: Jude comes back to Elfhame after her banishment.





	You Came Home

Waking up with a dagger hovering merely inches from his throat should have been far more startling than it was.

It would have been more startling, he supposed, If he was far less drunk, and if he didn’t see the face hovering above him.

He had to be dreaming or hallucinating or something.

Jude Duarte stood above his bedside, dagger sat dangerously close to his neck. Her face was twisted into something resembling a snarl, her brows furrowed and eyes filled with fury.

“Jude,” escapes his lips, a whisper in the otherwise quiet room.

“I should kill you,” she says, hiding the shaking in her voice. Not fear, anger causing her body to shiver uncontrollably.

“Yes,” He can’t find it in himself to be scared, “You should.”

Slowly he reaches his hand up, weapon it around hers; the one holding the dagger.

“My lovely Jude, you’ve come home.”

Her face twists as anger pushes her farther, the knife now resting on his skin.

“You banished me.” She grits out through her clenched teeth.

“Yes,” He looks almost in pain as the word escapes his mouth.

“Why.”

There are so many reasons, each more selfish than the last, so he finally settles on the least selfish of them all.

“You killed my brother.”

It’s not an accusation but it sure feels like one.

She flinches ever so slightly, “Only one of us was going to survive that battle, would you prefer he live and I die?”

He is quiet, quiet for far longer than necessary.

“No,” he simply says.

“Then why? Why did you do it?” Her voice raises with every word.

“You killed my brother,” he says again.

“Bullshit, you and I both know that’s not why.”

His face twists in pain, the sort of pain caused my a conflict solely in ones mind.

“To protect you!” He shouts, before lowering his voice back into a whisper, “to protect me.”

“Why would I need protection? Why would you?”

“Full of questions today aren’t you Jude?” He smiles. He’s nervous. At her angry look he sighs and continues, “after what Orlaugh did to you, I realized you are not safe here, not safe in this court or this world. I tore myself apart when you were gone; you were hurting and there was nothing I could do about it. I thought you would be safer among mortals.”

Among your own kind.

“I couldn’t be around you Jude, you haunt me” indeed, her face had been the most common image in both his dreams and his nightmares recently.

“I don’t know what I feel for you Jude, but I fear it may kill me.”

Her face twisted in confusion, processing the words he just said. She ripped her hand out of his and stalked out of his room and down the hall, past the bewildered guards.

Cardan wasn’t sure why it felt like his heart had been ripped from his chest and followed her out the door.


End file.
